China's Onda was once somewhat known as a manufacturer of low-cost PMPs that packed some relatively high-end specs, but it's unsurprisingly since moved on to more of a focus on tablets. While those haven't exactly garnered much attention to date, it's latest certainly continues that high-specs / low-cost tradition. Known only as the V972, the tablet packs Android 4.1 for an OS (a 4.2 upgrade is apparently promised), and it's among the first to use Allwinner's new quad-core A31 processor. The real standout detail, though, is a 9.7-inch screen that boasts the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as the Retina iPad. Otherwise, you'll get 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, front and rear cameras, and a promised eight to ten hours of battery life -- all for $240. Those interested in taking the plunge on one will have to wait a bit longer, though -- it's currently listed as out of stock on Onda's website, and there doesn't appear to be any other retailers selling it just yet.

Looks like a decent tablet with $240, and some people even say that Onda V972 will be a competitor of Apple iPad. Another quad-core Onda V812 will also be available. Here is a Onda V972 & Onda V812 review: http://ondav.com/qua...da-v812-review/

Just ordered Onda V972... Was waiting for Ramos W30HD but it took so long and I'm afraid the Mali 400MP4 is not going to cope with that 1080p resolution. Even though I guess the Exynos has the quicker CPU I'm convinced the SGX544MP2 will defeat it hands down. Also the A31 can decode 4K so I plan to use it as a media center as well...

Happy new year! I'm new here and looking for some advise,do you think the Onda V972 is better than the Icoo ICOU10GT? Going to buy my first tablet and really not sure which one to go for, any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is my first Android device. Have been using my wife's iPad 1 for some time, mostly for reading and web surfing and wanted my own device.

I live in Hong Kong and bought it from Taobao for RMB 1329 (USD213). Included accessories (stylus, soft cover, ear phones, stand, USB adaptor, head phone splitter) which I now realise I won't use; apart from the USB adaptor.

First impressions mostly good but since I am new to Android have spent most of the time trying to learn what it does.
Also have a slight issue because it came in Chinese and I do not read Chinese. Had to wait for my wife to change it to English!

Screen is very good, in general the device is slick and responds well. Video playback is good. The speakers are not very loud but music through headphones is very good. Cameras seem to be OK but not great.

PDFs are laggy though. PDFs on the iPAD 1 render very quickly and things like screen scrolls seem to be instant. On the Onda, the same PDF, takes a short while to render and screen scrolling is bumpy. I suspect this is due to the screen resolution. This may get annoying because it is the main thing I wanted it for. So far I have only tried the free PDF readers. Would appreciate recommendations for a good, fast, PDF app. Paid for is OK.

Awaiting delivery of my v972 so interested to read your initial thoughts. How is the wifi? Also does it have normal & HD display modes like the RK3066 retina tablets? If so how smooth & responsive is it in HD mode compared to non-HD mode?

Pdf reading is also one of my main uses. For paid apps I found Quickoffice Pro HD to include an excellent pdf viewer as well as being a general office program. I have tried a few pdf reader apps and not many deal with large pdf magazines very well e.g. PC Pro or T3 which can be 140Mb and 180 pages of graphically rich pages. QO also remembers where you were with each magazine.

Having said that I found that even free Adobe reader & Documents to go pdf reader work well on RK3066 based tablets so it may just be a firmware issue on the v972 which might improve with future firmwares.

I assume I am in HD mode and the menus/pages slide across very smoothly. Sometimes the screen moves too quickly, especially when moving icons.
I have no idea how to switch to non HD mode or check to see what mode I am in. The only related option in the settings is screen adaption and this hasn't made any difference yet.

Spent the morning playing with PDFs. The best so far (for me at least) is Adobe's Reader in single page display. A tap at the edge of the page brings in the next page - this is very similar to how I read on the iPad and means no page scrolling. The PDF viewer in WPS office is OK if you take your time with scrolling the pages. If you flick too fast the screen jumps a bit.

The power button is in the wrong place. When in landscape orientation I keep pressing it with the heel of my hand by mistake .
Unlock screen & Home screen is landscape only and I can't find a way of rotating them.
Battery seems to drain very quickly. Based on today's moderate use I get about 4 hours from a full charge. Installed Juice Defender to see if it helps.
Some of the other battery saver apps aren't compatible.